Courtside View: Atlantic Division foes no match for Celtics

There was no way it could be that easy again. Or maybe it can? While the Celtics (16-2 after last night's win over Charlotte) have some lofty challengers for the best record in the NBA - the Cavaliers (13-3), Lakers (13-1) and tomorrow's Garden visitor the Magic (12-4) chief among them - the improved testing ground that wa...

While the Celtics (15-2 entering last night's game at Charlotte) have some lofty challengers for the best record in the NBA - the Cavaliers (13-3), Lakers (13-1) and tomorrow's Garden visitor the Magic (12-4) chief among them - the improved testing ground that was supposed to be the Atlantic Division has turned into a matador circus through the first month of the season.

Nobody really expected much from the Knicks (7-8) and the Nets (7-7) - who, you could argue, have actually exceeded expectations in hovering around the .500 mark for more than a couple of weeks - but the Raptors (8-7) and Sixers (7-9) were supposed to make this a lot more interesting.

So far, the division title race has been about as compelling as a made-for-TV movie on the Hallmark Channel. Just when you think something unpredictable might happen, you get a development right out of last year's recycled script.

The past week was a perfect example. The Raptors were at home in what could have been a statement game against the defending champs after they'd built a 16-point lead in Boston before falling late two weeks prior. They even had them at one of the early start times (Sunday at 12:30 p.m.) that had given the C's a few fits last season. But the Toronto defense couldn't roll over faster if it were a golden retriever on command. The result was 118 points allowed - no, it was not 1985 calling asking for its playing style back - and a 15-point Celtics victory that felt more like 30.

Fast forward five days, when the Celtics played the Sixers and the lead actually did hit 30 in the fourth quarter before Boston settled into a 102-78 shellacking. While one could argue the addition of Jermaine O'Neal wasn't really going to help the Raptors all that much - and may wind up backfiring in the end if they continue to sputter and Chris Bosh walks in two years - the Sixers just had to be better this year. With a quintessentially solid point guard in Andre Miller, an emerging superstar in Andre Iguodala, and past and potentially future MVP candidate in newcomer Elton Brand, Philly figured to be a top candidate for a 2007-08 Celtics-like leap from mediocrity to contender.

But through 16 games, the Sixers are actually on pace to have a worse record than last year's 40-42 mark and looked far, far away from turning the corner as they put up 28 points in a half and 47 points through three quarters Friday night.

"They showed why they were world champions last year," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said after the game. "Their defense stifled us. They took us out of every set we had."

Page 2 of 2 - While Doc Rivers said the Celtics took advantage of a developing team, and Ray Allen refused to quantify the division victory as any more or less significant than any other early in the season, Kevin Garnett admitted there might have been a little lesson-teaching involved.

If you want to climb the mountain, you'd better be prepared to hold your ground when the team at the top tries to shove you back down.

The Sixers did nothing but freefall Friday night.

"We really wanted to make a mark," Garnett declared. "Philly is one of those dangerous teams, to me, in the East. Defensively (against them) we were connecting more than anything, and I think you saw that from the giddy-up. You saw it from the jump ball."

The question is whether any of that will change in the Atlantic Division the rest of the way. Whether any team in the division is capable of making the Celtics wait until after St. Patrick's Day - last year the C's clinched the division on March 14 - to flood the sporting goods stores with hats and T-shirts commemorating what will be viewed as an exceedingly marginal accomplishment.

The Celtics don't plan on it.

"We know everybody wants to beat us," said Allen following his 23-point effort, including 15 in the turn-the-lights-out third quarter, on Friday. "Everybody wants to get in position where they can turn their season around and prove how good they are by beating us. We don't want to hold that distinction of getting a team going. We have to protect what we have every night. Being the defending champions, that's a responsibility for all of us."

While they claim they don't look at standings, or celebrate win streaks, the record does matter when it comes to the one thing they considered so important to last year's championship run - home-court advantage.

"Every game counts for us because home court is so big," Leon Powe said. "Home court is big for every team. We realize that because we've been through it last year. If we can win every game, we'll try."

Presumably, the division rivals will do the same.

It's just that the Celtics have made it seem like they all still have acres of ground to make up before the champs are legitimately in their sights.

(Scott Souza is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 781-789-5318 or ssouza@cnc.com. For updates and analysis, check out the "Courtside View" blog at blogs.metrowestdailynews.com/Celtics.)